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- Jul 13, 2015
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Hey all,
My boyfriend's roommate of 2 years is moving out at the end of the month to live with his girlfriend and plans on taking his cat with him. My boyfriend and I are worried about the cat's long-term welfare and were hoping to ask the roommate if we could adopt his cat, or foster for a few months. I'm wondering if anybody else has experience with this type of conversation, and if they have any tips they could give.
Here's the basic story: He's had this cat for about four years now. The cat hasn't been to the vet since adoption, although she appears to be healthy . While her owner obviously cares about her, he will not be home for days at a time, leaving the other housemates to take care of her feeding, litterbox, etc. Until he'd moved in with my boyfriend, she'd never even had wet food. When he is home, he often leaves his door closed and rarely does more than give her a few minutes of attention. In a previous house he'd lived in, she spent most of her day locked in his bedroom because other roommates had let her out of the house/possibly abused her. She was very lonely. He also does not have the finances to take her to the vet any time soon, and if a health crisis does come up, he won't be able to pay for care. She's been moved around a lot before living at the current house.
A few months ago, the boyfriend and I tamed and adopted the stray that my family had been feeding since winter. Our cat has bonded deeply with the roommate's cat as well.
We worry because the roommate's girlfriend also has a cat, but the cat has never been to the vet or even spayed. She can't afford to license the cat or take it to the vet for next while. We worry about the risk of the roommate's cat contracting something like FIV, or them not being introduced properly and injuring each other. (she's done that in the past and taken cats back to the SPCA because they were "mean")
My boyfriend and I have the finances and the home to take care of the cat's needs. We were obviously fully aware the roommate would move out one day. However, the quality of care for his cat has declined and it worries us. We would like to sit down with the roommate and at least offer to keep her at the house for a few months while he gets settled. It's not like we're going to steal the cat or anything. We'd just like to offer to give his cat a home where all of her needs would be met, she's got a friend, and humans that are home for a majority of the time. And offer that if he can't keep her any more, at any point, we will adopt her no questions asked.
Does anybody have any pointers that could make the conversation go well? I'm open to any advice!
If he does take the cat, my boyfriend and i will keep watch at our local shelter, etc, and re-home her with us if she is given up.
My boyfriend's roommate of 2 years is moving out at the end of the month to live with his girlfriend and plans on taking his cat with him. My boyfriend and I are worried about the cat's long-term welfare and were hoping to ask the roommate if we could adopt his cat, or foster for a few months. I'm wondering if anybody else has experience with this type of conversation, and if they have any tips they could give.
Here's the basic story: He's had this cat for about four years now. The cat hasn't been to the vet since adoption, although she appears to be healthy . While her owner obviously cares about her, he will not be home for days at a time, leaving the other housemates to take care of her feeding, litterbox, etc. Until he'd moved in with my boyfriend, she'd never even had wet food. When he is home, he often leaves his door closed and rarely does more than give her a few minutes of attention. In a previous house he'd lived in, she spent most of her day locked in his bedroom because other roommates had let her out of the house/possibly abused her. She was very lonely. He also does not have the finances to take her to the vet any time soon, and if a health crisis does come up, he won't be able to pay for care. She's been moved around a lot before living at the current house.
A few months ago, the boyfriend and I tamed and adopted the stray that my family had been feeding since winter. Our cat has bonded deeply with the roommate's cat as well.
We worry because the roommate's girlfriend also has a cat, but the cat has never been to the vet or even spayed. She can't afford to license the cat or take it to the vet for next while. We worry about the risk of the roommate's cat contracting something like FIV, or them not being introduced properly and injuring each other. (she's done that in the past and taken cats back to the SPCA because they were "mean")
My boyfriend and I have the finances and the home to take care of the cat's needs. We were obviously fully aware the roommate would move out one day. However, the quality of care for his cat has declined and it worries us. We would like to sit down with the roommate and at least offer to keep her at the house for a few months while he gets settled. It's not like we're going to steal the cat or anything. We'd just like to offer to give his cat a home where all of her needs would be met, she's got a friend, and humans that are home for a majority of the time. And offer that if he can't keep her any more, at any point, we will adopt her no questions asked.
Does anybody have any pointers that could make the conversation go well? I'm open to any advice!
If he does take the cat, my boyfriend and i will keep watch at our local shelter, etc, and re-home her with us if she is given up.